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On October 19, 1928, the Commission received a claim (Form CA-4) for compensation from Mrs. Mildred Ring in which she stated that in January 1938, while employed as a field matron for the Indian Service (Department of the Interior) she contracted pulmonary tuberculosis while nursing Indians (at Dresserville, Nev.), who were suffering from that disease. This claim was accepted and approved by the Commission.

The last medical report received in this case was from the United States Marine Hospital, San Francisco, Calif., dated October 6, 1942, which is in full as follows: "Reference is made to the case of Mrs. Mildred Ring, File 240893 who reported with Form CA-33 dated August 28, 1942, and was admitted to this hospital on September 23, 1942, for survey of present condition referable to an old tuberculosis, allegedly sustained in performance of duty January 1928. She was last examined in this hospital in January 1941. Since discharge she lost about 16 pounds in weight, from 104 to 88 pounds, at present. She has had frequent night sweats, and still has arthritic pains in feet, hands, and cervical spine, has to walk with aid of a crutch. Her general health has been very poor, and semi-invalided since 1932, she further states. Height, 5 feet 3 inches; weight, 88 pounds.

"Chest: Resonant throughout, no abnormalities noted on inspection, palpa. tion, percussion, or auscultation. Extremities, fusiform swelling of both wrists and phalangeal joints in hands; motions in these joints limited. Swelling also present in right ankle, moderate limitation of motions in ankle. X-ray of chest. No evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis, except several small calcified Ghon tubercles in the hilar region, probably residual of a minimal childhood tuberculosis, long since healed and arrested.

"Laboratory findings: Urinalysis negative; blood test, Kahn, negative. Sedimentation rate, 30 min. 26 mm. 60 min. 31 mm. Blood count, RBC 4, 160 M. WBC, 9300, hemoglobin 75%, small mononuclears 28, large mononuclears 6; eosinophiles 8, neutrophiles 58. Sputum, negative for tubercle bacilli.

"Diagnosis: Tuberculosis, pulmonary, chronic, minimal, arrested. Arthritis, chronic, mixed, more or less generalized. Curvature of spine, scoliosis. "Conclusions: In the opinion of examining surgeons the tuberculosis in this patient has entirely recovered and no disability now exists as result of such tuberculosis. She has about a 50 percent disability due to her osteoarthritis which is not related to injury. No treatment indicated for old arrested tuberculosis allegedly sustained January 1928, and patient was discharged from the hospital September 30, 1942. Prognosis good for tuberculosis, but poor for arthritis, which probably will progress.'

After careful examination of all medical evidence on file in this case, the Commission decided that as a result of the tubercular condition, Mrs. Ring had suffered disability from October 21, 1928, to December 31, 1942 (less time employed), and paid her compensation for such period the sum of $10,992.46. The sum of $2,262.95 was also paid by the Commission for medical and transportation expenses. The aggregate amount of payments made in this case is $13,255.41. The Commission found that as of December 31, 1942, Mrs. Ring had recovered from tuberculosis and that she was not entitled to further compensation on account of such condition. The Commission also found that any disability suffered by Mrs. Ring from arthritis or other conditions was unrelated to the tubercular condition, and hence compensation for any such disability could not be paid.

The first information the Commission received with respect to a back injury alleged to have been sustained by Mrs. Ring while in Government employment was contained in a letter from her, dated August 19, 1938, which is in part as follows:

"I had no spinal trouble or defect prior to my service and disability in Reno, Nev., nor have I suffered any injury to the spine subsequent to that time unless it has been due to my chest condition. Some doctors have expressed the opinion that it may have been caused by the pressure of fluids due to pleurisy which during the first few years accompanied or were the outcome of the tubercular condition. Others have been plainly so puzzled that they did not express an opinion other than asking me if I had been injured.

"During the first year of my service in Reno, being field matron, my work required that I drive about constantly, frequently over the roughest kind of desert roads, in the Government car. This car was an antiquated, rough-riding broken-down model T Ford. Several times I was marooned in the desert, due to car trouble, and the last time I came near freezing to death before being rescued. An urgent wire from my superintendent to the Washington office resulted in authorization for the purchase of a new car. If any injury, other than

my chest condition, has caused this curvature of the spine, my experience in driving that old Government model T Ford must have been the cause of it."

Mrs. Ring was hospitalized at the United States Marine Hospital, San Francisco, Calif., from August 10 to 13, 1938, for a complete medical survey of her case.

In

a report from that institution dated October 6, 1938, it was stated with respect to her back condition as follows:

66# * * in our opinion the arthritis of hands, feet, and spine which she complains of and which was found on last examination in this hospital in August 1938, was thought to be of an infectious nature and has only been present during the last 6 months. It is felt that the arthritis is not related in any manner to the disability, namely, pulmonary tuberculosis for which she is drawing compensation."

On July 11, 1941, the Commission received a report from Dr. George J. McChesney, San Francisco, dated February 11, 1941, in which he stated that he examined Mrs. Ring and that she gave him the following history with respect to the alleged back injury:

"In 1927, in automobile, doing work in Government Indian Service, had an accident when car developed mechanical difficulty, went down hill, gained momentum, and was stopped suddenly when hit objects behind. Car did not turn over. She was not thrown out. Was not knocked unconscious, and after several hours wait in very cold weather, help arrived and she was able to get car going and drove 35 miles farther. No medical examination thereafter. Stayed in bed several days. Had no visible evidence of injury, but gradually developed pain between her shoulder blades and that has lasted ever since."

Dr. McChesney's report concludes as follows:

"It would seem that there is here a slowly progressive arthritis of the atrophic type, developing most markedly in the right wrist and to a lesser extent in the dorsal spine. According to her statement, this appears to date definitely from the automobile accident in 1927, which was of a nature that could be supposed to cause a strain upon the muscles and ligaments of the cervical and dorsal spine, more in the former by a jerking back of her head when the car suddenly stopped. The exposure thereafter would be a contributory factor. It would be my opinion that her lateral curvature or scoliosis was not caused by the injury but has existed since adolescence unrecognized by her, and in no way has this curvature interferred with her health and active use of her back at any time or should it become a factor of disability in the future. The arthritis in this region in my opinion was not influenced in any way, therefore, by this curvature but was by her ten dency to tuberculosis as well as the lowered general resistance due to the puimonary disease which tended to cause the arthritis in her wrist to be more severe than it would have been otherwise. The atrophic arthritis at present is most marked in the right wrist where definite X-ray changes are shown and typical subjective and objective symptoms are present. The involvement of her ankles. feet, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac joints are all affected to a mild degree and without marked objective symptoms.'

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Report of Dr. Luther J. Calahan (undated) received by the Commission November 5, 1940, reads in part as follows:

"I treated Mildred Ring about 3 years for latent pulmonary TB and during her examination including lung X-rays discovered she had a well-marked scoliosis of spine in thoracic region which in my opinion was a direct complication of her pulmonary TB

* * * "

In a letter dated October 28, 1940, Dr. Calahan elaborated upon the above statement as follows:

"If TB is not the cause of the spinal condition it is still TB in origin and can be the complication of an injury which she sustained in a Government automobile while in Government service in Nevada."

Dr. James W. Gerow in a letter to Mrs. Ring, dated January 31, 1942, stated in part as follows:

"It was during the winter of 1927-28 while you in an old Ford open car battling blizzards and rain contracted arthritis and even now I can recall that I prescribed antiarthritic treatment for you. In fact from that date on through 1928 you were definitely arthritic. Then after that time and I believe in September 1928 the X-ray showed pulmonary TB. This, of course, could be incidental or I should say coincidental as both conditions could develop during the same time and it did no doubt in your case.

In a letter to the Commission dated October 3, 1941, Mrs. Ring requested that her claim for compensation on account of pulmonary tuberculosis filed in 1928 be amended so as to permit her to obtain compensation and medical treatment as the result of arthritic condition which she alleges resulted from an accident in 1927.

Since it did not appear that Mrs. Ring had filed written notice of the alleged back injury or claim for compensation within 1 year from the date thereof, as required by the mandatory provisions of sections 15 to 20, inclusive, of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act of September 7, 1916, the Commission was without authority of law to consider the merits of any claim she might file for compensation for disability resulting from a 1927 injury, and she was so advised by letter dated October 31, 1941.

The proposed measure is apparently designed to waive in favor of Mrs. Ring the bar of the time limitations contained in sections 15 to 20, inclusive, of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act of September 7, 1916, on account of injuries she is alleged to have sustained to her back during the winter months of 1927-28, and to leave the Commission free to determine the merits of Mrs. Ring's claim, if filed not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the bill, and to afford her such measure of relief as the facts when established may show her to be entitled to under the Compensation Act.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission makes no recommendation as to the advisability of the enactment of the bill, H. R. 2846.

This report has been submitted to the Bureau of the Budget pursuant to Budget Circular 390 dated June 1, 1942; and has been returned with the advice that there would be no objection to the submission thereof to the House committee for its consideration.

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MORGAN CREAMERY CO.

FEBRUARY 13, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. JENNINGS, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 952]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 952) for the relief of the Morgan Creamery Co., having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

A similar bill was favorably reported by this committee in the Seventy-eighth Congress.

The facts will be found fully set forth in House Report No. 1973, of the Seventy-eight Congress, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

[H. Rept. No. 1973, 78th Cong., 2d sess.]

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to appropriate the sum of $920.64 to the Morgan Creamery Co., of Fargo, N. Dak., in full settlement of all claims against the United States as part of the excess cost alleged to have been incurred by the United States by reason of the failure of the Morgan Creamery Co. to perform under contract No. VA37r-935, entered into on June 25, 1942, with the United States Veterans Administration to deliver fresh milk, cream, buttermilk, and cottage cheese to the Veterans Administration facility, Fargo, N. Dak., during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1943.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

It appears from the records that the Morgan Creamery Co. entered into a contract with the Veterans Administration at Fargo, N. Dak., to furnish milk, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and cream for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1943. It also appears that the Morgan Creamery Co. fulfilled this contract up to and including September 30, 1942, when he notified all his customers, including the manager of the Veterans Administration facility at Fargo that he was closing his creamery plant as of September 30, 1942, because of a labor shortage in the community. However, for a period of 30 days thereafter, or during the month of October 1942, deliveries were made by the contractor through the Fairmont Creamery Co.

H. Repts., 79-1, vol. 1-36

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